4 Google Flights Features We Love

If you're a long-term traveler, a digital nomad or just someone who doesn't mind being a bit spontaneous with your holidays, then you’ve no doubt familiarized yourself with Google Flights, the latest quantum leap by the search engine giant. If you haven’t, you should; and here’s why.

Before we begin, it's worth noting that Google isn't paying us to write this article (although we wish they were because we're sure that they pay well). We're just sharing this with you because we believe that it will revolutionize your flight bookings the way it has revolutionized ours. Let's get started with some of the great features:

Choose a Destination Country / Continent (Not Just A City)

This is the best feature on Google Flights and it is what sets it apart from all other booking engines that we've used in the past, though others are sure to follow suit soon. Instead of just choosing a destination city to fly into, you can choose the country or, better yet, the region that you'd like to fly to. You can then open a map that shows all of the different fares for each city in your chosen country or region.

Want to fly to Europe for a three-month backpacking trip, but don't care where you land as long as it's cheap? This map will show you every major city in Europe with a price above it so you can choose the cheapest city to fly into. Using this tool, we were able to find a flight to Europe for half price just by flying into Paris instead of London!

See a Full Month Of Fares!

This is an amazing feature. Instead of having to re-enter your dates to check for better fares, Google makes it easy for you.

With Google Flights you can see an entire month worth of fares right before your eyes with an easy to scan bar graph. This way you can choose the cheapest day of the month to fly and plan your trip accordingly.

Best Flight Indicator

Google takes the guesswork out of the flight booking for you. You may have found the cheapest flight in the list, but sometimes those flights have long and uncomfortable lay-over times. Google automatically calculates the best deal for you based on both cost and time in transit.

Happiness Factors

A good deal on a flight is only a good deal if you’re comfortable while you're in the air. Google includes some very handy little icons next to the fare called "happiness factors.”

The icons include the aircraft model, seat type, cabin layout, integrated entertainment, power sockets, Wi-Fi provision and fresh food availability. You can even see how much legroom you’ll have!

I'm Feeling Lucky

This is a pretty cool feature for those of us who just want to go on a holiday and don't really care where we're heading. Just enter a departing city and a destination region, open the results in map view and click the "I'm Feeling Lucky" button. Google will wiz you to an exotic location based on the best deal.

Thank You Google!

We've been waiting for a flight booking engine like this for a long time and we're happy it's finally here. As digital nomads and perpetual travelers ourselves, the option to see fares for all of Europe or all of Africa really gives us the freedom to find the best fare and have a little bit of spontaneity in our travel plans. The full month of fares ensures that we'll always be flying on the right day of the month for optimal discounts. Next time you're booking your flight, head to Google.com/flights and see just how easy it can be to save money and have more fun booking airfare.

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Nick and Dariece are the couple behind Goats On The Road, a website designed to inspire others to live a financially sustainable, location independent lifestyle. Masters at making money abroad and turning their travels into a way of life, they've been on the road since 2008 and have explored some of the least visited places on earth, finding adventure wherever they go. They are also full time contributors at Credit Walk where they share their expertise of making money and travelling forever. Check them out at Goats On The Road.com. and follow them on Twitter, Facebook and Google+.